Control of waste accepted into a Landfill requires the use of protocols to routinely
screen waste inflow and / or criteria to assess the admissibility of waste for handling
and disposal. These criteria are aimed at determining whether particular waste should
be accepted or rejected. All acceptable wastes are classified as permitted waste and
those rejected are classified as prohibited waste in relation to the operating criteria for
the facility.
Prohibited wastes can include specified waste categories such as tyres, sludge that
have not been dewatered, recyclable materials or hazardous waste. Other associated
controls may include the specification of maximum allowable water content in sludge,
and maximum allowable amounts of waste per annum for specific waste categories.
Waste control processes for a Landfill should be considered during the risk
assessment process, before the development of operational procedures. The reason for
this is that the permitted waste definition will affect the leachate and landfill gas
generation and composition, and are also likely to affect the specifics of the
containment system design and landfill development configuration. Therefore waste
control protocols need to be established before any design and risk assessment can be
conducted for a particular facility.
Waste control processes are also important in recording information about waste types
that are subject to control, including:
Establishing accurate information about deposited waste (quantities, timing).
Recording the location of waste placement and issues around the potential
environmental risk of the facility.